


of all the B and Bs in the world

by kiwigirl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bonding over books, Darcyland (Marvel), F/M, Fluff, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, SWORD Agent Darcy Lewis, fortuitous blizzards, freak snowstorms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28284549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwigirl/pseuds/kiwigirl
Summary: If Darcy had left a little earlier, maybe she would have beaten the snow and made it to the family get together on time. On the other hand, maybe she was right where she needed to be.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis
Comments: 8
Kudos: 147
Collections: Darcyverse Secret Santa





	of all the B and Bs in the world

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scratches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scratches/gifts).



Darcy saved the report and printed it to pdf before closing the document with a sigh. One more down, another twenty or so to go. She’d known when joining SWORD that it wouldn’t be all intergalactic missions and space battles, and she was fine with that. Unfortunately, as the most junior agent in the office, she was left with the bulk of the paperwork as the rest of the office shut down for the holidays.

Technically, she could leave the rest for next year, but she’d decided that she would rather start the year with a clean plate. Also, she was procrastinating.

She glanced at the notification light blinking on her phone and sighed again. Another three messages had come through since she last checked it and she was willing to bet that they were all from her mom. Apparently there was snow coming and Amelia Lewis wanted to make sure she was on the road before it descended. Knowing her mom, she was probably overreacting to what was likely a light dusting of snow.

It wasn’t that Darcy didn’t love her extended family. She did. But she loved them in the way that one loved deep-fried mars bars — intermittently and in small quantities. She wasn’t looking forward to the end of year gathering where her aunts would ask after her love life and make comments about her figure while her cousins not-so-subtly tried to interrogate her on her confidential new job.

Finally the last report was complete and she’d tidied her desk. Shutting down her computer, she waved goodbye to the janitor and made her way down to her car, suitcase already packed and in the trunk. Only as she exited the underground parking garage did she realise that it was dark outside. Not a surprise at this time of year, but she had a long drive ahead of her if she wanted to get to the Lewis holiday lakehouse that night.

About 30 minutes into her drive, the first flakes of snow hit her windscreen. She started her wipers and kept going, but as the miles ticked by and the snow grew thicker, she pulled over to search for the nearest accommodation. Thankfully, there was one about fifteen minutes up the road, so she plugged in the directions and headed back onto the road.

The snow was showing no sign of letting up when she pulled into the parking lot of the bed and breakfast, porch light shining a welcome into the dark night. Parking carefully, Darcy jumped out and made her way to reception, shoulders hunched against the piercing cold. The older lady at the counter looked up at her entrance, a bell ringing on the door. “Oh, come in! We weren’t expecting anyone else tonight.”

Darcy nodded awkwardly. “I don’t have a reservation, but the snow is coming down pretty thick out there and I figured I better stop for the night. Do you have a room?”

“Of course! You’re not allergic to cats, are you?” At Darcy’s headshake, she beamed. “Wonderful. Do you have a bag?”

“Yeah, it’s in the car.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder back into the night.

“Let’s get one of the men to bring it in, shall we?” the older lady suggested, ringing another bell on the counter before producing a tablet. “Fill out your details while James fetches your bag. Is your car locked?”

Darcy fished out her car keys as she tapped out her name on the tablet, heard the receptionist talking to someone and the door open and close once. She was just signing her name when the door opened again.

“Here’s your bag,” a guy said, and Darcy turned to look at Bucky Barnes.

If she hadn’t spent the last few days digitising some of the records from SHIELD, she might not have known him. His hair was longer than in his enlistment photo but more tidy than the Winter Soldier files and pulled back into a neat bun. He was clean shaven, wearing a puffer jacket and gloves, and watched her staring at him warily. Embarrassment pinking her cheeks, Darcy reached for her bag. “Thanks.”

“No, no, James, how about you take that to Ms Lewis’ room? She’s in the blue suite.”

“Yes, Mrs Andrews,” Bucky - James - said, ducking his head and hefting Darcy’s overfull suitcase like it was nothing.

Mrs Andrews flapped a hand at him. “How many times have I told you to call me Donna? You too, dear,” she added, to Darcy.

“Thanks, Donna,” Darcy smiled. “Call me Darcy, then.”

Donna pushed a key across the counter. “Always a pleasure, dear. You have a good rest now, you hear? Breakfast is from 6 to 9.”

Nodding, Darcy joined James over by the dark wooden staircase and followed him up the stairs. He led her to her room and waited as she unlocked it before depositing her bag on the luggage stand inside.

“Can I help you with anything else?” he asked.

Darcy took a deep breath and hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake. “If I was to call you Bucky, would you think I was crazy?”

James froze and that was all the confirmation she needed. “You do know people are looking for you, right?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t want - you can’t -” he met Darcy’s gaze for a moment before dropping it again. “They don’t want me.”

“Really?” She cocked her head at him, willing him to look up. “You do remember you’re a fricking war hero, right?”

Clearly, her telepathy skills needed work. “I’m happy here,” he mumbled, refusing to look at her as he backed towards the door, and then he was gone.

“Great,” Darcy sighed, dropping onto the bed. Exhaustion nibbling at her bones, she pulled out her phone, selecting one of the unread messages at random and hitting the call button with a guilty pang of relief. It was time to let her mom know not to expect her that night.

Outside, the snow continued to fall.

* * *

Donna was at reception when Darcy stumbled downstairs at 8:45 the next morning, regretting her decision to not set an alarm.

“Darcy, good morning!” Donna called. “You’re just in time!”

Mumbling a greeting, Darcy wandered into the dining room and to a seat at the large table, grabbing a cinnamon roll on the way. Seeing her sit a down, a young blonde woman bustled over past two businessmen reading the papers over emptied plates and a young couple just digging in.

“Hey! Welcome to breakfast, what would you like to eat?”

Darcy listened to the list of available food and picked one at random before tearing into the still warm roll. A few minutes later, the blonde delivered a stack of pancakes and a small jug of maple syrup. “You checked in last night, right?” the blonde asked.

“Yeah, emergency stop due to snow,” Darcy answered. At the sympathetic look on the other woman’s face, she frowned. “How bad is it?”

“You might be here for a while,” the blonde admitted. “I’m Rachel, by the way.”

After eating far more of the pancake stack than possibly wise, Darcy decided to check for herself. The front desk was unattended as Darcy walked past to open the front door, so there was no-one to hear her groan.

Her car was gone. Well, not gone-gone, more like buried under what looked like three feet of snow. Beyond it, the carpark and driveway were a long expanse of white up to her waist

“That’s not great,” she remarked to noone in particular. Just then, a white blur shot past her legs and out the open door into the snow.

“Alpine!” a guy yelled behind her. “’Scuse me,” he said, before lifting her bodily out of the way as a piteous wailing began from somewhere past where Darcy’s car should be.

Darcy clutched the doorframe as James waded into the snow to retrieve a soggy bundle of white fur. “Is your cat okay?” she asked as he returned, shutting the front door behind him.

“Damn cat forgets she hates snow ten seconds after jumping into it.” Despite his gruff words, he cuddled the cat close as she attempted to burrow into his jacket. Pulling the zipper down halfway, he created enough of a gap for her to wriggle in entirely, squirming around until her little face peeked out. After one last pat, he looked up to find Darcy watching him. Expression carefully blank, he nodded once in greeting and vanished through one of the doors in the foyer, cat cradled in his jacket.

Rachel chose that moment to exit the dining room. “Was that James I heard?”

Darcy nodded. “His cat tried to do a runner.”

“Of course. Can’t get two words out of the guy but he’ll talk to that cat. Or about it, if he’s in a good mood.”

“Has he been here for long?” she ventured.

“Couple of years, I reckon,” Rachel said. “Mr Andrews took pity on him because he’s a fellow vet but he’s good at helping around the place.” She smirked. “If you’re looking for a snugglebuddy for the holidays, I suggest you look elsewhere. Our James is shy.”

Darcy hadn’t, not at all, but the insinuation sent a wave of heat to her cheeks as she suddenly pictured doing exactly that. She’d admired the file photos in a distantly appreciative kind of way, but the memory of him lifting her out of the way was something else entirely. Not that she’d admit as much to Rachel.

“He reminds me of a friend of a friend,” she replied, stretching the truth only slightly.

Not convinced, Rachel nodded and changed the subject. “I’ll fetch Donna; you’ll probably be staying a bit longer.”

* * *

Donna was only too happy to book Darcy in for another night though Darcy’s mom was less pleased. With not much else to do, Darcy wandered into the common room to peruse the bookshelf of worn paperbacks. An old favourite caught her eye so she pulled it out and settled by the fireplace, cheerful garlands adorning the mantelpiece.

Somewhere during the third chapter, a warm weight thudded into her lap. Darcy looked down to find a ball of white fur kneading her thighs. “Where did you come from, huh?” she murmured, scratching beneath its chin. Though she looked around, the only other people in the room were the two businessmen from breakfast. With no-one else around, she went back to her book, still petting the cat.

The book was nearly done when a figure came up beside her. “Sorry,” a man said. “I can take her back.”

Darcy looked up from her book and the purring cat. “It’s fine, it’s fine. What did you say her name was?”

“Alpine,” said James.

“You can sit down, you know,” she said, indicating the armchair opposite. “I’m going to get a crick in my neck if you keep looming.”

“Looming?” he asked incredulously, though he did take the seat. “I do not loom.”

“Tower?” she tried. “Overlie? Stand over? How about verticalise?”

“That’s not a word.”

She didn’t even blink. “You understood what I meant, didn’t you? That makes it a word. Language is productive.” Alpine nudged her hand and she realised she had stopped petting. Resuming, she hid a smile at his disgusted expression. “So what do you do around here? Other than carry bags and rescue cats.”

“One cat in particular,” he muttered. “And I do whatever they want me to do, I guess. Fixing stuff, painting stuff, shoveling snow like today. I help in the kitchen when it’s busy.” He grinned at the surprised look on her face. “I’m surprisingly good at chopping things.”

“Of course you are,” she sighed. “What about in your free time?

One shoulder rises in a soundless shrug. “I don’t know. You?”

“I like baking, when I’ve got the time.” Raising the book in her hand, she waved it at him. “Reading, obviously. You read much?”

A deep crease lined his forehead. “I used to,” he admitted. “Before…” his voice tailed off and she nodded in understanding.

“And since then?” Darcy tilted her head towards the bookshelf with a raised eyebrow.

“I - there are too many. I don’t recognise any of them, wouldn’t know where to start.”

“What did you like to read?”

“Anything. Everything. I used to love the sci-fi paperbacks, stories that would take you to another world. Now it sometimes feels like I’m living in one.”

Darcy went to get up, then remembered the cat in her lap. Instead, she held out the book she held. “Here, try this one.”

“But you’re reading it,” he protested.

“I’ve read it at least five times and at least a hundred eBooks on my phone I’ve never read once. If it means you get to enjoy this for the first time, I will happily hand this over and start working through the backlog.”

After a long pause, he accepted it, taking the book from her grasp as the fire crackled merrily in the hearth.

* * *

They spent a pleasant afternoon reading and enjoyed a truly excellent pot roast for dinner. Mr Andrews announced that the snowplows were expected soon so they would most likely be able to leave the next day, to the visible relief of the businessmen. Darcy was less relieved, but she couldn’t skip the holidays entirely and additional delays would only add to her mom’s guilt trip.

She was reading in bed when there was a scratching at her door. Stuffing her glasses on her face and grabbing her taser, she opened it to reveal Alpine, clearly agitated. Darcy squinted up and down the hallway, then at the cat, who was padding down the hall but looking back as if ordering her to follow.

Slipping a robe over her pajamas, Darcy slipped the taser into one pocket and her phone into another before following the impatient cat past a ‘Staff Only’ sign and around a corner to where a door lay ajar. Beyond it, she could hear deep voices, though she couldn’t make out any words.

She eased the door open and peered inside. James was wearing a t-shirt that highlighted both his musculature and his metal arm, but that wasn’t what made her mouth go dry. No, that would be the two businessmen holding James at gunpoint.

“Coming quietly is the right thing to do,” one of them said to him. “Resisting arrest only shows you’re as bad as they say you are.”

“If you come with us, we won’t have to arrest the fine people here for harbouring a fugitive,” the other added.

At the threat, James tensed and Darcy acted on instinct and pushed the door open wide. “James?” she purred, before faking a gasp. “What’s going on?”

All three men swung their attention to her. One of them stepped forward, his gun pointed somewhere between her and James. “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to go.”

Darcy shook her head. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll scream.” The gun barrel twitched in her direction and she pretended not to notice.

The man heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry to tell you that this man is a dangerous criminal and there’s a warrant out for his arrest.”

“A warrant?” Darcy glared at James. “How long has there been a warrant out on you?”

“A few years,” the other man inserted smoothly. “It appears he’s been hiding here for most of it.”

A few years? Darcy nearly snorted. She’d updated his file mere days ago and there had been no warrant outstanding anywhere. Russia had been the last to drop all charges but they’d agreed to do so during some negotiations over a year ago. Something of her knowledge must’ve shown on her face because his face twisted and he began to raise his gun.

A blur of white shot past Darcy and between the man’s legs, making him stumble. At the same time, Darcy fired her taser and James grabbed a poker from beside the fireplace and swung it at the other man’s head. It connected with a crack and he fell heavily, landing beside his twitching compatriot. He still breathed, but it looked like he would be out for a while.

James frowned at Darcy’s taser. “Are you allowed to carry that?”

Darcy grinned up at him. “Hi, Darcy Lewis, Agent of SWORD. Gives me certain concealed carry protections. Nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure, I’m sure.” A smile twitched at his lips before he looked down at the two men. “What are we going to do with them?”

Kneeling beside them, Darcy systematically rifled through their pockets and came up with nothing but cuffs and a syringe she didn’t want to think about. Flipping them over, she cuffed them and took photos of their faces to send to her work email. “No ID, so they’re definitely not legit. I’ll get someone to run them through facial recognition when the office reopens.”

“They said they were FBI?” James asked.

She shook her head. “The feds have no outstanding warrant on you, not for years.” At his questioning look, she shrugged. “I’ve been doing paperwork of various sorts for the last week; yours was one of the files. You’re listed as a bona fide war hero.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that,” he muttered, holding Alpine close, but she flowed from his arms to twine around Darcy’s legs.

“That means it must be true. See, even Alpine agrees.”

“Alpine knows a pretty lady might have just saved my life and wants to say thank you.”

Darcy smirked. “Are you sure it’s Alpine that you’re talking about?”

“Absolutely. Also, she’d very much like to kiss you.” He tugged her closer until a bare foot of space stood between them, a question in his eyes.

“I take it back. You’re not a war hero, you’re a damn menace.”

He laughed. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” she said, and kissed him.


End file.
